Report 801
Report #801 Skillset: Discipline Skill: Breathing Org: Nekotai Status: Completed Aug 2012 Furies' Decision: We will change Breathing to a 1-minute on/off timer but it will start out blocking 100% of damage and be calculated outside of DMP. This will give a consistent fall in resistance over time instead of DMP's extended period of high resistance due to DMP scaling. Problem: Former report 709 identified the problem of Breathing. which introduced an admin-driven solution: change the near-impossible to use "immunity" skill to a 4-minute 200 DMP countdown w/4-minute cooldown. In short, the defense nearly negates all damage-based, asphx PVP attacks such as Aquamancy Tsunami and Nekotai Oothai. 0 R: 0 Solution #1: Halve the duration of the defense and cooldown (from 4 mins to 2 mins). 0 R: 0 Solution #2: Halve the effect of the defense (from 200 DMP to 100). 0 R: 0 Solution #3: Introduce an aspyx weakness on hyperventilation/cooldown. Player Comments: ---on 7/26 @ 11:52 writes: Or any combination of solutions presented in this report. ---on 7/26 @ 19:39 writes: Solution 2 ---on 7/27 @ 12:58 writes: Solution 1 and 2 seem reasonable to me either implemented separately or together. ---on 7/28 @ 18:11 writes: Fan of any of these solutions, or a combination of them. ---on 7/29 @ 08:10 writes: Solution 1 or 2 is fine, leaning on Solution 1 ---on 8/1 @ 11:50 writes: Notes from REPORT 791: 10 DMP is lost every 15 seconds and the defence lasts 5 minutes with a 5 minute cooldown. If my math is correct, 5 DMP would be lost every 15s under Solution 2. In contrast, Solution 1 would suggest 20 DMP is lost every 15. This fact is very significant when you begin to factor how DMP weighting impacts resistance upon each deflation tick. If I am not mistaken (and I have made mistakes before), Solution 2 appears to be the only true fix. Besides, who can hold their breath for more than 2 minutes anyway? ---on 8/2 @ 06:19 writes: Guybrush Threepwood ---on 8/3 @ 10:46 writes: Happy with both solutions 1/2, with a preference for solution 2. ---on 8/4 @ 00:28 writes: Http://pastebin.com/8L3Mz8Dy --> Gives data for current Discipline Breathing, Solutions and 2. ---on 8/5 @ 01:07 writes: Solution two ---on 8/7 @ 19:01 writes: Saying that "the defense nearly negates all damage-based, asphx PVP attacks" is a gross overstatement. 200 dmp is only a 2/3 reduction. 110 seconds later, it's 1/2. Judging by my own dmp levels, I would say 33% is a pretty good benchmark for what's usually attainable in any given damage type. So breathing offers above average dmp for 225 seconds out every 600, or 37.5% of the time. It gives normal dmp for 75 seconds, or 12.5% of the time, and then no dmp at all for the remain 50%. I have yet to see a compelling reason for why breathing needs to be changed, as I think its unique mix of benefits and drawbacks is a very good balance. ---on 8/7 @ 19:45 writes: @Tulemrah general impression is that both solo and group PVP encounters rarely last more than a couple of minutes. A ten-minute breathing cycle, from defup to cool down, seems a bit long in duration by these standards (with Villages as the exception). Besides, calculating breathing only asphyx DMP ignores the other common DMP sources such as tattoos, devout shield, constructs, amber malt, attune, orgami, etc. Although these DMP sources wouldn't have much to offer at the top end, they have significant impact on deflation. Therefore your calculations are not accurate. Solution 2 only scales duration, not Besides, are there any other expert level "general" skills that cuts offense to this degree? ---on 8/7 @ 19:46 writes: All those numbers were based off of an arbitrary "average dmp" you seemingly chose out of nowhere, so they have to be taken with a pretty big spoon of salt. You are really downplaying how significant a 2/3rds reduction to a given damage type is. I'd venture to say it's the reason why mages use pure poison/cold/etc staff casts over asphyxiation, it's certainly a large reason as to why I use nightgaze over nightkiss in pvp. It's simply not possible to constantly track where their dmp is and how much damage you are doing, so rather than providing "a unique mix of benefits and drawbacks," the damage type just goes unused in favor of more reliable damage types. If asphyx dmp game wide is too low and this provides mages who use pure asphyx staves too much damage, perhaps we should look in to staff tuning. Until then, though, I don't see a reason to punish guilds with more limited options with a skill that provides extreme levels of dmp game wide. ---on 8/8 @ 21:50 writes: My point is that the 2/3 reduction is very temporary. And as I said, the choice of 33% as the benchmark in my example is based on my own dmp levels. I just looked at what I have for the common damage types (cold/electric/fire) and bumped it up a little, because I know I don't min/max near as much as most people. I am not aware of mages forgoing asphyx on their staffs being a trend, but if I had the choice, I would use it instead of cold or electric. ---on 8/9 @ 03:16 writes: @Tulemrah you aren't accounting for other forms of asphyx DMP. Based on my Bodyscan Resistances Full (fully deffed up as you blatantly ignore), I can gain another 55 asphyx DMP from Low Magic Blue, Kirigami, Amber Ale, Devout Shield, Commune Construct, and monk Tattoos. It appears that I can run well over 50% resistance for at least three full minutes, and never dip below 35% resistance, even during the five-minute cool down. Review the results here: http://pastebin.com/puWvCKFg Your conjecture is simply wrong. There is simply not a need for a 200dmp common skill in the game especially one as low as "expert" skill level. ---on 8/13 @ 09:58 writes: Rainbow curio, 25 asphyx -> Scratch that. Now I could potentially earn +80 common DMP against asphyx damage type. WOW. I'm now thinking that solution 1 ~OR~ solution 2 don't go far enough in light of the recent curio additions. Would it be possible to completely change breathing to a 3s balance to set def, and then the first asphyxiating attack strips the defense? Give it back the 100% immunity considering it would only protect against the first hit. ---on 8/14 @ 11:20 writes: I hate to have a strong opinion change so late in the process, but DMP curios is the straw that broke the wakabi's back. As per Announce 2055, Rainbow curio provides 15 DMP. Granted, there are limited asphyx-specific skills in-game, but the DMP curios PLUS common resist-all defenses make up for that gap. A DMP- solution is no longer warranted for Breathing (as per Report 709). My ONLY recommended solution is to make a tea-like defense: 3s bal to raise, gives immunity to an asphyx, attack after which the Breathing def is stripped. ---on 8/14 @ 14:31 writes: With all these dmp sources it's getting hard to keep track of things. I think a lot of damage sources are beginning to suffer from the continual introduction to widely available dmp. Without breathing, asphyxiation currently dwells around excoro/divinus dmp wise. With it, it surpasses even blunt/cutting which is generally the most accessible of the dmp types. The trick is to make it so it has some value, but doesn't end up being the go to choice for every mage in the game, which is difficult since asphyxiation dmp generally exists in one or the other extremes I mentioned above. As long as the defense doesn't consume balance/eq I can get behind it. ---on 8/25 @ 12:50 writes: I agree about the influx of DMP sources. However, I would liken Asphyx to Poison rather than Excoro/Divinus. This can especially be see in the release of DMP curious with Ex/Div offered in a split 5/5 and Asphyx/Poison each offered in a full 15. Also consider there are pockets of skill-based Asphyx DMP such as Acro Tattooist Monk, Lowmagic Eco Druid, or Acro Eco Bard just as there are pockets of skill-based poison DMP. However, there are no DMP negating mechanics against Poison (or Psychic) for that matter. Not sure why this damage type is singled out. ---on 8/28 @ 07:33 writes: I like sol 1 and 3, but adding just 3 by itself would seem to render it more of a detriment.